Poles incensed over allocation of funds to compensate Nazi slave laborers

A row over who will pay for the administrative and legal costs for former Nazi slave laborers during the long battle for compensation from the German government has deepened. A foundation to administer funds for the holocaust survivors is to start operating soon. Ambassador Otto Lambsdorff, the German government's chief negotiator on compensation matters, is in Warsaw at the invitation of the Polish-German Reconciliation Foundation (FPNP) to discuss terms for distributing the money. Of the DM 10 billion allocated for compensation by the German government, DM 200 million has been set aside to cover administration costs, a move that has infuriated Polish survivors. Part of the money would be used to pay the New York-based attorneys who represented the survivors during the lengthy legal battles. The Polish position has been backed by the Citizen's Rights Ombudsman who has appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) to ensure there is proper control over how the money is paid out. (Rzeczpospolita, page A2)